Background and General Provisions - Governor Brian Kemp recently signed House Bill 300 (the “Act”), which amends the Solar Power Free-Market Financing Act of 2015 by adding decommissioning requirements that must be...more
Our Currents’ focus article this month is on developments in the growth of solar electric power generation and obstacles to future growth that are occurring around the U.S. from environmental groups and other energy producers...more
While imagery of the American Dream used to be picturesque farm towns, robust bounties and families gathered around the table for a meal, values have shifted, and once-robust farming communities have become forgotten lands,...more
Adding solar energy facilities to a rooftop or a parking lot is an excellent way to put developed land to even more productive use. Hosting a solar array can create value for a property via a new revenue stream from rent...more
NY Governor's Veto of Wind Power Bill “Undermines Industry," Critics Say- “The bill known as the ‘Planned Offshore Wind Transmission Act’ has been working its way through the state legislature since April 2023.” Why...more
On June 23, 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill (HB) 3179, which changes the definition of energy facilities subject to mandatory Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) jurisdiction. Signed by Oregon’s...more
Kilpatrick’s John Livingston recently spoke at “The 2023 Appalachian Clean Energy CLE Workshop” where he led a panel discussing recent legislative updates to the decommissioning requirements in North Carolina for utility...more
The Biden administration hopes to create a commercial nuclear fusion facility within 10 years as part of the nation’s transition to clean energy, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said on Monday. Fusion works by...more
The U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) earlier this week issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the up to 20 percentage point additional investment tax credit (ITC) for certain solar and wind facilities...more
The NC Department of Revenue sought to throw some shade at the financing regimes through which solar farm and other renewable energy projects are built by challenging the flow of tax credits from LLC developers to their...more
Electricity generated from renewables surpassed coal in the United States for the first time in 2022, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced Monday. Renewables also surpassed nuclear generation for the...more
Last Thursday, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved a plan that will set the state on a course to adding 86,000 MW of new resources to the grid by 2035. That amounts to “more than a doubling of the...more
The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced a scientific breakthrough in nuclear fusion at a national lab in California, marking a major step toward developing a new, sustainable form of energy that releases virtually no...more
It is increasingly common for landowners and building owners (“Owners”) to be approached by a developer (“Developer”) interested in executing a “solar land lease” (“Solar Lease”) or a “solar power purchase agreement” (“Solar...more
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the Act) runs 725 pages and includes numerous energy tax provisions aimed at enhancing US energy security. The Act, if enacted, would extend and expand the renewable and alternative...more
Louisiana has joined the growing number of states requiring solar producers to provide financial security for clean-up costs associated with shutting down their facilities. The state’s decommissioning statute, signed into law...more
The Pennsylvania legislature is weighing two bills that require decommissioning plans for solar energy projects, and the debate over them among lawmakers illustrates the challenges associated with developing a solution to...more
On June 16, 2022, the Ohio Power Siting Board (“Board” or “OPSB”) issued a comprehensive set of proposed revisions to the rules governing the procedures before the OPSB and its siting criteria. The Order culminates a...more
BLM Notices Nearly 90,000 Acres for Solar Leasing in CO, NM, and NV - On December 21, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) published a Notice in the Federal Register calling for expressions of interest and nominations for...more
João Pedro Matos Fernandes, Minister of Environmental and Climate Action of Portugal, has announced the launch of an auction for 262-megawatt (MW) floating solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity to be installed at seven dams across...more
Farm leases are a common occurrence on land being developed for solar and wind energy projects, due to the size and rural nature of land sought for development. While title searches will discover written leases that are made...more
Construction begins on Southeast Asia's largest floating solar power plant in Indonesia - In early August 2021, plant developer PT PJB Masdar Solar Energi (PMSE) announced that it had reached financial closing for the 145...more
As the number of solar projects has increased in Virginia, developers are confronting a more challenging environment in securing land use and zoning approval for their utility scale solar projects. Join Williams Mullen for...more
As a follow up to last week’s post about the proposed rules that would limit the development of solar PV on certain high-value farmland in Oregon, the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development issued its staff...more
It's no secret that Oregon's natural beauty is one of its greatest treasures. In 2016, Thrillist named Oregon the seventh most beautiful state in the country – a ranking that should come as no surprise to most Oregonians. Our...more